Chapter 16: Composites

Course: Material Science (MEC213)

Instructor: Assist. Prof. Pelin TÖREN ÖZGÜN Materials Science and Engineering Department
11/ /
Instructor: Assist. Prof. Pelin TÖREN ÖZGÜN Materials Science and Engineering Department
Modern Ski as a Complex Modern
Composite Material
Tg: glassy, brittle state
to rubbery state.

HRC used in Rockwell Hardness scale..

Instructor: Assist. Prof. Pelin TÖREN ÖZGÜN Materials Science and Engineering Department
 Chapter 16: Composites

ISSUES TO ADDRESS...
• What are the classes and types of composites?
• What are the advantages of using composite
materials?
• How do we predict the stiffness and strength of the
various types of composites?

Chapter 16 -
 Composite
• Composite Material: Combination of two or
more individual materials. These constituent
materials have notably dissimilar chemical or
physical properties and are merged to create a
new material with properties unlike the
individual elements.

• Design goal: obtain a more desirable

combination of properties (principle of
combined action)
– e.g., low density and high strength
Chapter 16 -
 Terminology/Classification
• Composite:
-- Multiphase material that is artificially
made.

• Phase types:
-- Matrix - is continuous
-- Dispersed - is discontinuous and
surrounded by matrix

Adapted from Fig. 16.1(a),

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Chapter 16 -
 Terminology/Classification
• Matrix phase: woven
-- Purposes are to: fibers
- transfer stress to dispersed phase
- protect dispersed phase from
environment
-- Types: MMC, CMC, PMC 0.5 mm
cross
metal ceramic polymer section
view
• Dispersed phase:
-- Purpose: 0.5 mm
MMC: increase sy, TS, creep resist. Reprinted with permission from
D. Hull and T.W. Clyne, An
CMC: increase KIc Introduction to Composite Materials,

PMC: increase E, sy, TS, creep resist. 2nd ed., Cambridge University Press,
New York, 1996, Fig. 3.6, p. 47.

-- Types: particle, fiber, structural

Chapter 16 -
Classification of Composites

Adapted from Fig. 16.2,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Chapter 16 -
 Classification: Particle-Reinforced (i)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Examples:
- Spheroidite matrix: particles:
steel ferrite (a) cementite
(ductile) (Fe C)
Ferrite is a 3
ceramic
(brittle)
material
60 mm

- Tungsten matrix: particles:

Carbide cobalt WC
(ductile, (brittle,
(WC)/Co tough)
: hard)
cemented
carbide 600 mm

- Automobile matrix: particles:

tire rubber rubber carbon
(compliant) black
(stiff)
0.75 mm Chapter 16 -
Extra info for Spheroidite Steel

Chapter 16 -
 Classification: Particle-Reinforced (ii)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural

Concrete – gravel + sand + cement + water

- Why sand and gravel? Sand fills voids between gravel particles
Reinforced concrete – Reinforce with steel rebar or remesh
- increases strength - even if cement matrix is cracked

Steel
Rebars

Chapter 16 -
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (i)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Fibers very strong in tension
– Provide significant strength improvement to the
composite – Lightweight !!!!
– Ex: fiber-glass - continuous glass filaments in a
polymer matrix
• Glass fibers
– strength and stiffness
• Polymer matrix
– holds fibers in place
– protects fiber surfaces
– transfers load to fibers
Fiberglass composite
Applications: house building, storage tanks, or glass-fiber
surface boards, piping….. Etc. reinforcedChapter 16 -
plastic (GFRP)
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (ii)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Fiber Types
– Whiskers - thin single crystals - large length to diameter ratios
• graphite, silicon nitride, silicon carbide
• high crystal perfection – extremely strong, strongest known
• very expensive and difficult to disperse
– Fibers
• polycrystalline or amorphous
• generally polymers or ceramics
• Ex: alumina, aramid, E-glass, boron, UHMWPE
– Wires
• metals – steel, molybdenum, tungsten

Chapter 16 -
 Longitudinal
direction
Fiber Alignment
Adapted from Fig. 16.8,
Callister & Rethwisch 8e.

Transverse
direction

aligned aligned random

continuous discontinuous
Chapter 16 -
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (iii)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Aligned Continuous fibers
• Examples:
-- Metal: g'(Ni3Al)-a(Mo) -- Ceramic: Glass w/SiC fibers
by eutectic solidification. formed by glass slurry
matrix: a (Mo) (ductile) Eglass = 76 GPa; ESiC = 400 GPa.

(a) fracture
surface

2 mm

fibers: g ’ (Ni3Al) (brittle) (b)

Nickel aluminide

Chapter 16 -
 Classification: Fiber-Reinforced (iv)
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Discontinuous fibers, random in 2 dimensions
• Example: Carbon-Carbon C fibers:
-- fabrication process: very stiff
- carbon fibers embedded very strong
in polymer resin matrix, (b)
500 mm C matrix:
- polymer resin pyrolyzed less stiff
at up to 2500ºC. view onto plane less strong
-- uses: disk brakes, gas
fibers lie
turbine exhaust flaps,
(a) in plane
missile nose cones.
• Other possibilities:
-- Discontinuous, random 3D
-- Discontinuous, aligned

Chapter 16 -
 Classification: Structural
Particle-reinforced Fiber-reinforced Structural
• Laminates -
-- stacked and bonded fiber-reinforced sheets
- stacking sequence: e.g., 0º/90º
Adapted from
- benefit: balanced in-plane stiffness Fig. 16.16,
Callister &
Rethwisch 8e.
• Sandwich panels
-- honeycomb core between two facing sheets
- benefits: low density, large bending stiffness
face sheet
adhesive layer
honeycomb

Adapted from Fig. 16.18,

Callister & Rethwisch 8e.
(Fig. 16.18 is from Engineered Materials
Handbook, Vol. 1, Composites, ASM International, Materials Park, OH, 1987.) Chapter 16 -
 Composite Benefits
• CMCs: Increased toughness • PMCs: Increased E/r
Force 3 ceramics
particle-reinf 10
E(GPa) 2 PMCs
10
10 metal/
fiber-reinf
1 metal alloys
un-reinf
0.1 polymers
0.01
Bend displacement 0.1 0.3 1 3 10 30
10 -4 Density, r [mg/m3]
ess (s-1) 6061 Al
• MMCs: 10 -6
Adapted from T.G. Nieh, "Creep rupture of a
Increased silicon-carbide reinforced aluminum
composite", Metall. Trans. A Vol. 15(1), pp.
creep 10 -8 6061 Al 139-146, 1984. Used with permission.

resistance w/SiC
whiskers
10 -10
s(MPa)
20 30 50 100 200 Chapter 16 -
Nanocomposites
Nanocomposite is a multiphase solid material
where one of the phases has one, two or three
dimensions of less than 100 nm or structures
having nano-scale repeat distances between the
different phases that make up the material.
Example:
An epoxy containing carbon nanotubes can be
used to produce nanotube-polymer
composite windmill blades. This results in a
strong but lightweight blade, which makes
longer windmill blades practical. These longer
blades increase the amount of electricity
generated by each windmill.

Instructor: Assist. Prof. Pelin TÖREN ÖZGÜN Materials Science and Engineering Department
Chapter 16 -